Learning lessons from last year's ‘Mavi Marmara,’ gov’t invests resources to gather info on who and what are on flotilla ships sailing to Gaza.
Israel has invested significant “intelligence assets” into assessing who and what is on the vessels that are expected to sail soon for the Gaza Strip, so that “this time Israel won’t be surprised,” diplomatic officials said on Tuesday.
The officials said the government internalized lessons learned from both the Eiland and Turkel committees, which looked into the handling of last year’s Mavi Marmara flotilla, and found that Israel was surprised by the level and type of resistance it came up against.
This time, the officials said, there are people whose jobs it is to ascertain who and what is going on the ships.
The officials’ comments came after security and diplomatic personnel said on Sunday that radical elements had hidden chemicals such as sulfur to be used against IDF soldiers if they try to interdict the flotilla.
In addition, officials said that there was growing concern that “hard-core” Islamic activists were intermingling with passengers on the ships who are believed to be genuinely nonviolent, and would use these passengers if necessary as “protective shields.”
In last year’s flotilla of six ships, the “hard-core” Islamic activists were concentrated on the Mavi Marmara, and were not on the other vessels. If they now “intermingle” with the passengers on the other vessels, this would “create special operational challenges” for the IDF, the official said.
Government officials said it was easier to obtain information about the ships and the passengers this time because the Greek authorities, who have come out strongly against the flotilla, have been much more cooperative than the Turkish authorities were last year.
Last year, Turkey was a main center for those organizing the flotilla, but Ankara – under a great deal of pressure from a number of different countries – stepped back this year, forcing the organizers to try to launch from Greece.
One official said the Greeks were strictly adhering to regulations regarding insuranceand the issuing of permits to the vessels.
While Athens may not forbid the ships to sail from Greek ports, as Cyprus has done, “going by the book” has caused the organizers delay and considerable uncertainty.
Even with the concern that some of the activists aboard the vessels had less than peaceful intentions, diplomatic officials noted with some satisfaction that while the organizers originally spoke of some 1,500 activists intent on setting sail, in the end it appears about one-fourth of that number will try to break the Gaza blockade.
One senior Foreign Ministry official said this was due in part to the diplomatic pressure for countries to do what they could to dissuade their citizens from participating, something a number of countries did by issuing official warnings.
Also on Tuesday, the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Ministry held a drill with government and military spokespeople about how to get Israel’s message across on the Internet in real time if the flotilla turns violent and there are casualties.
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Technical difficulties, dwindling participation and possible sabotage sap momentum of Freedom Flotilla 2; 350 people expected to participate.
Withdrawn insurance deeds, alleged sabotage and Greek bureaucracy have dealt a setback to organizers of Freedom Flotilla 2, who said on Tuesday that departure to the Gaza Strip might be postponed until next week.
n addition, a mere 350 people are expected to participate in the flotilla, as opposed to the 1,500 originally expected by the organizers.
“There have been many obstacles and complaints. Some boats are not ready and it is not clear when we will sail, although we expect it will be in the coming week,” Ewa Jasiewicz, a leader of the Free Gaza Movement from Poland, told The Jerusalem Postfrom Greece. “We cannot rule out the possibility that it will be pushed off until the beginning of next week.”
In any case, the Israel Navy is continuing with its preparations to stop the planned flotillaof 10 ships.
On Tuesday, officers from the navy and the air force held a series of meetings to review operational plans, and senior IDF officers have, over the past few days, spoken with foreign military attachés based in Israel as well as with their counterparts from countries whose citizens are participating in the flotilla.
“We want to make sure everyone is aware of what we are doing and why,” a senior officer explained.
The 10 ships expected to participate in the flotilla include the Freedom from Ireland, The Audacity of Hope from the United States, the Tahrir from Canada, the Swedish and Greek Juliano, two Swedish-Greek cargo ships carrying 3,000 tons of supplies, the Italian ship Stefano Chiarini and the French ships Julien Rivoire and Dignity.
The two French vessels left Corsica over the weekend and are making their way to the rendezvous point in the Mediterranean, Jasiewicz said, while other ships are docked in Greece awaiting approval to depart for the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, the propeller shaft of the Juliano was found cut, leading organizers to accuse Israel of sabotaging the ship, which will take several days to fix.
“Insurance has been withdrawn, one of the ships was sabotaged and Greek authorities have not given all of the permits,” Jasiewicz said about the delays.
Jasiewicz rejected IDF assertions reported in the Post on Tuesday that intelligence obtained by Israel shows that some of the passengers plan to attack soldiers and are bringing sacks of sulfur on board to pour on the soldiers and then set them on fire.
“We have no record of that. It is a false claim,” she said.
“All of the passengers have been trained in nonviolence and noncompliance tactics. The whole idea is not to have contact with the Israeli army. We are not seeking any violent confrontation... The only violence we have heard of is coming from the Israeli army.”
Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz said on Tuesday that the flotilla is not meant to bring Gazans humanitarian aid, but rather to delegitimize Israel internationally.
Gantz, who was speaking at an IDF ceremony honoring reservists, said there is no lack of basic supplies in Gaza, and that they are “importing televisions and plasma screens, and exporting agricultural products to the entire Arab world.”
The IDF was well-equipped and ready to deal with any threat posed by flotillaactivists, he said.
Speaking at the same ceremony, Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the flotillaa “provocation,” adding that “there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If [activists] are sensitive to human suffering, then they need to turn their efforts to freeing [kidnapped soldier] Gilad Schalit or at least allowing him visitors.”
